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Hickenlooper shifts position on more gun control measures

In a significant shift from his statements earlier this year, Gov. John Hickenlooper now says "the time is right" for Colorado lawmakers to consider further gun restrictions.

The Democratic governor made his comments in an interview with The Associated Pressthat comes less than half a year after the mass shooting in an Aurora movie theater that killed 12 and injured at least 58. His latest words also follow a shooting in an Oregon mall Tuesday that left three dead, including the gunman, who shot himself.

"I wanted to have at least a couple of months off after the shooting in Aurora to let people process and grieve and get a little space, but ... I think, now ... the time is right," Hickenlooper said in the Wednesday interview.

But his comments to AP are in contrast to ones Hickenlooper made in the days after the Aurora shooting, in which he expressed skepticism that tougher gun laws would have stopped suspected gunman James Holmes' July 20 rampage in the theater. Also, Holmes' apartment was rigged with trip wires and explosive devices, authorities said.

"This person, if there were no assault weapons available, if there were no this or no that, this guy's going to find something, right?" Hickenlooper said in an interview with CNN. "He's going to know how to create a bomb. Who knows where his mind would have gone? Clearly a very intelligent individual, however twisted."

Those comments upset some Democrats and gun-control advocates.

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"And, you know, if it wasn't one weapon, it would have been another," Hickenlooper said at the time. "I mean, he was diabolical. If you look at what he had in his apartment and what his intentions were, I mean, even now it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up."

Potential gun-control legislation in the 2013 session could include bills to ban assault-style weapons, limit magazine sizes, further restrict sales to those with mental-health issues and restrict guns on college campuses. Some Democrats don't favor further gun restrictions.

In the AP interview
, Hickenlooper said the issues that merit discussion include "things like 'Do we all need assault weapons?' " Such arms, he said, are "designed for warfare" and "designed to pierce bulletproof vests and body armor."

He added, later, "When you look at what happened in Aurora, a great deal of that damage was from the large magazine on the AR-15 (rifle). I think we need to have that discussion and say, 'Where is this appropriate?' "

Republicans said the governor appeared to be flip-flopping on gun issues.

"The governor's original comments in July were accurate," said Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs. "Holmes' commitment to kill would not have been prevented by any laws. The governor now appears to be succumbing to political pressure of extreme elements in his party, and this is disappointing."

Incoming House Minority Leader Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs, said he applauded the governor's comments over the summer, which Waller said he took to mean that more gun restrictions weren't needed. He said Hickenlooper's most recent comments seem "contradictory" to what he said earlier.

"I'm guessing he got some grief from the far left when he made those comments, and that has caused his shift," Waller said.

Reached while traveling Thursday, the governor told The Denver Post, "I don't think I flip-flopped at all. The AP was asking, 'Should we have that discussion (about gun restrictions)?' I said, 'Sure. This is not a discussion that a free, open society should be afraid of,' " he said.

David Kopel, research director of the libertarian-conservative Independence Institute and a gun-rights activist, said his reaction to Hickenlooper's comments will depend on what legislation is proposed.

"Prosecuting law-abiding people for the crimes of James Holmes is a bad thing," he said.

If the topic of this conversation revolves around mental illness and keeping guns out of the hands of people deemed to be mentally ill, so much the better, Kopel said. However, he said the discussion should not be about types of guns.

"If (Hickenlooper) wanted to ban certain guns for cosmetic reasons, that would be a disappointing step away from his thoughtful and logical approach to public policy," Kopel said.

It was not clear Thursday to what degree next year's Democratically controlled legislature intends to take on gun control, but the debate has begun.

Incoming House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, said the governor's statements come as members of his party are interested in debating gun-control issues.

"I am happy that the governor is willing to have those conversations," Ferrandino said.

However, the speaker said sweeping changes would be difficult to achieve. For example, bans on certain types of guns could be problematic.

"When you look at assault-weapons bans, it's always around how do you define it. Thus far in discussions, it's been difficult to define it," Ferrandino said. "How do you define assault weapons to make sure you're eliminating the true assault weapons while not eliminating the ability of people to own guns for hunting and other legitimate uses?"

Rep. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, said she plans to present at least three pieces of legislation that deal with gun control.

She said the bills will look at closing loopholes on private gun sales, restricting high-capacity ammunition clips and keeping guns out of the hands of individuals with a history of mental-health issues.

"We all know mental health might have played a factor in the Aurora shooting," said Fields, who said the specifics of her legislation are still being worked out.

Fields said she is working with groups such as Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Colorado Ceasefire on the gun-control bills and should have more details by the end of this month.

"There needs to be a serious discussion about gun control in the next session," Fields said. "And that discussion is going to happen."